[2] Engel took up managing immediately after his playing days had come to an end, working as a youth coach for Chemie Leipzig until 1976, when he found work with the Deutscher Fußball-Verband, the East German football association.

Altogether, he was in charge of a national team for 195 matches, and coached later stars such as Matthias Sammer, Ulf Kirsten and Thomas Doll.

Bundesliga side Carl Zeiss Jena and former East German top-flight teams 1.

He gained some international experience managing Daewoo Royals FC in South Korea and Ismaily SC in Egypt.

In South Korea, He became a historical first foreign manager in K-League history.